New Brunswick reported an increase in new hospital admissions for COVID-19 over the past week but a drop in the number of active hospitalizations.
The latest weekly COVID report from the Department of Health showed 22 hospital admissions for the week ending Aug. 13. That is up slightly from the 20 admissions reported during the previous seven-day period.
With the exception of one individual, all of the new admissions involved people aged 50 or older.
Two people were admitted to an intensive care unit in the province, down from three the previous week.
As of Saturday, there were 27 people in the hospital because of COVID-19, a decrease of five from the week before. The number of patients in an ICU increased by one to four.
People between the ages of 70 and 89 account for the highest portion of hospitalizations, according to the report.
Meanwhile, the two regional health authorities reported 111 people in the hospital as of Aug. 13 (down from 132 a week earlier) and eight in intensive care (up from three).
- Horizon Health: 90 active admissions and five in intensive care, compared to 75 active admissions and one in intensive care one week ago.
- Vitalité Health: 21 active admissions and three in intensive care, compared to 57 active admissions and two in intensive care one week ago.
Unlike the provincial data, which only accounts for those who are admitted to hospital with COVID-19, RHAs also include the number of patients who are initially admitted for another reason and later test positive for the virus.
Five more deaths reported
New Brunswick reported five more deaths related to COVID-19 over the past week, compared to four deaths the previous week.
The latest deaths, according to the provincial report, include one person in their 70s and four people in their 80s.
There have been 456 deaths attributed to the virus in New Brunswick since the pandemic began.
Moncton region remains hotspot for new cases
A total of 1,265 positive cases were reported over the past week, including 675 PCR tests and 590 rapid tests. That was down from 1,377 reported positive cases the previous week.
The Moncton health region, Zone 1, continues to be the hotspot with 429 new cases, accounting for nearly 34 per cent of last week’s total case count.
The Fredericton health region (Zone 3) recorded about 24 per cent of the new cases while the Saint John health region (Zone 2) recorded more than 16 per cent of the new cases.
Amongst the most recent random samples sequenced, two per cent were the BA.2 variant, 12 per cent were BA.4, and 86 per cent were BA.5.
Just over 900 vaccine doses given
In terms of vaccinations, the Department of Health says 935 doses were given out over the past week, including 333 first doses, 128 second doses, and 474 booster doses.
A total of 88.4 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers have received two doses and 53.3 per cent have received booster shots.
According to the two health authorities, 211 health care workers were off the job as of Saturday for COVID-related reasons, up from 204 a week earlier.
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